Warner’s announcement put the number of Democrats opposing Gorsuch at 41, the tally needed to use a procedural hurdle called a filibuster that requires 60 votes to allow a confirmation vote in the 100-seat Senate. It remained unclear, however, if all 41 senators who have voiced opposition would back a filibuster.

Republicans control the Senate 52-48. If Democrats amass the 41 votes to block a confirmation vote that Senate Republicans have planned for Friday, the Republicans would then be expected to try to change the chamber’s long-standing rules and allow confirmation by a simple majority, a move backed by Trump that is sometimes called the “nuclear option.”